He Attempts to Love His Neighbours

This made me laugh and think of all of you.

And by the way [Quinn], it's Arthur C. Clarke's birthday. And Margaret Mead's…

“He Attempts to Love His Neighbours”
by Alden Nowlan from Selected Poems (House of Anansi Press)

My neighbours do not wish to be loved.
They have made it clear that they prefer to
go peacefully
about their business and want me to do the same.
This ought not to surprise me as it does;
I ought to know by now that most people have a
hundred things
they would rather do than have me love them.

There is a television, for instance; the truth
is that almost everybody,
given the choice between being loved and
watching TV,
would choose the latter. Love interrupts
dinner,
interferes with mowing the lawn, washing
the car,
or walking the dog. Love is a telephone
ringing or a doorbell
waking you moments after you've finally
succeeded in getting to sleep.

So we must be careful, those of us who were
born with
the wrong number of fingers or the gift
of loving; we must do our best to behave
like normal members of society and not make
nuisances
of ourselves; otherwise it could go hard
with us.
It is better to bite back your tears,
swallow your laughter,
and learn to fake the mildly self-deprecating
titter
favored by the bourgeoisie
than to be left entirely alone, as you will be,
if your disconformity embarrasses
your neighbours; I wish I didn't keep forgetting
that.

Posted by Mike at December 16, 2003 11:29 AM | TrackBack